Account for the revival and fall of the KKK

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Introduction

Account for the revival and fall of the KKK In the 1920s, the KKK was a secret society of WASPs (White Anglo Saxon Protestants) that targeted blacks, Catholics and other foreigners. Their main aim was to put off these people from voting so that the people the KKK wanted in positions of power stayed there. It was first formed in 1865 as a social group for ex-confederate (southern) troops. It became more sinister after 1867 when it directed itself towards preventing former black slaves from voting. After the war the slaves had been given the right to vote, but the KKK thought that blacks were an inferior race and giving them political power was a bad idea. The robes, hoods and rituals of the Klan terrified black people in the south which appealed to white racists, and this cumulated in the Klansmen being involved in flogging, mutilating or even killing blacks. However, the Klan was forced to disband in the 1870s and this helped to prevent racist attacks but the Klan was still carried on in secret by a central core of people. During the late 1880s to the early 1910s, people were getting worried about immigration. There was a massive amount of foreigners entering the country and the idea was that they would become Americans but instead of embracing their new culture, they clung to the ways of their old country. ...read more.

Middle

The Klan was changing in the way it targeted people. While it is seen as an anti-black society today, was more focused against Catholics, political enemies and "morally corrupt" people (criminals such as bootleggers, thieves and corrupt politicians). The Klan is characterized as a violent organization and while some Klansmen did participate in floggings, mutilations and even murders, most of its members never got involved with the violence, so it was viewed as a organization for white Protestants worried about the influx of foreigners that sometimes got involved in benevolent activities. When it did resort to violence, the Klan was more likely to target people who had bad morals rather than ethnic minorities. However, there is no mistake that the Klan was hostile towards Catholics, Jews and blacks. The WASPs thought they were victims of a foreign invasion, while they didn't realise the hardships their targets faced in life. The opponents of the KKK fought back using violence as well, mostly in the north, where as well as resistance from Jews, Catholics and others, they angered the criminal world. Like in Chicago, where a Klan leader boasted his order would soon drive out all the criminals. Soon after, the body of a Protestant clergyman, who supported the Klan, was found dead in Cicero, headquarters of the notorious Al Capone. ...read more.

Conclusion

And Klansmen, who condemned things such as sexual freedom, were often tempted by the things they were against. All this led to the Klan's declining support from outside, and after the Stephenson case, the Klan has never recovered its former glory. So to conclude, the KKK was a group for WASPs who were worried about the new immigrants getting too much political power. They appealed to racists but also normal people worried about the influx of foreigners and the government's failure to do anything about it. They gained a lot of support and political power due to this appeal, but also made a lot of enemies due to the racist views and violent measures the Klan had to resort to. While many of the members weren't involved in these activities, they are the events which characterized the Klansmen's feelings. However, after one of the Klan's most prominent leaders, David Stephenson, was sentenced to life for murder, people began to see the ugly side of the Klan. The hypocrisy, corruption and violence of the Klan was highlighted by this case and made people realise the Klan was bad news. This led to declining support and the loss of power the Klan once had. It eventually faded out, except for the core group which remained true to the Klan's ideals. By Darryl Light ?? ?? ?? ?? ...read more.

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